Storm Warning, Arrivals, & the Forgotten City

[atlasmods]

GOOD MORNING NEW ARRIVALS Or well, almost. There's another day or two left before that. We still have that Hull from earlier to deal with! The Ruined Hull By now, most of the items have been cleared out (via discoveries on the previous OOC post). But just in case anyone missed it or didn't get to explore as they wanted, characters may find any (2) of the following items on top of anything else they may have already recovered: (1-2) Plasma cell C (1-2) Plasma cell D (1) Plasma rifle (0 charges*, takes D, 50% chance to be damaged) (1) Plasma pistol (1-3 charges*, takes C, 50% chance to be damaged) (1) Plasma grenade (1) Star chart fragment * 1 charge is roughly equal to 1 clip or magazine of 12 shots. The power drain is still present at its usual levels, with nothing changing on that front until...
The Storm & New Arrivals	IC Days 11 - 12 (Nov 6th - 9th)
The storm appears gradually over IC Day 11, a wall of sand on the horizon. Distant at first, but approaching with alarming alacrity. Before the end of the day the massive sandstorm covers the entire area explored thus far. The winds kick up so much sand into the air that it's nearly impossible to see more than a few feet in front of one's face. Best to take shelter quickly, possibly in the Queen's carapace or perhaps in the sinkhole of the Ruined Hull (or the hull itself). The storm hits maximum intensity on the first half of Day 12. It is not impossible to survive in the swirling winds, but it is certainly uncomfortable. Lightning arcs through the clouds of sand seemingly at random. Being struck is wildly painful - and dangerous - but has the side effect of charging up one's suit instantly. The storm lasts for approximately twelve hours. When it abates, the landscape is greatly changed. In fact ... it's quite beautiful in places. Wherever the lightning struck, there are now glittering crystals poking out of the sand. And the dunes have all been shifted around, burying former gaps in the sand and revealing new ones. It may be difficult to navigate with all of the scenery having shifted. But hey--all that shifting of sand? Has uncovered more pods - specifically those belonging to new characters. Looks like they were lying dormant beneath the sand for...who knows how long. There are other additions to the area as well. The winds have uncovered an odd, prickly sort of cactus plant. They are tan in color, covered in spines, and have several blue colored buds on each arm. There are also clusters of seeds on the ground that greatly resemble the "leaves" fauna from previous areas, only with a slight color variation. When poked or prodded they pop up out of the ground and...turns out, they're not plants at all. Probably? These "seedlings" will wander pretty aimlessly when bothered, but if heckled or attacked they will release a bright cloud of sweet-smelling pollen which causes whoever comes in contact with it to become...affectionate. Affectionate and attached and grabby for whoever happens to catch their attention. It's a neat little defense mechanism these tiny guys developed to keep the Kharids at bay: blast them with goo-goo-eyes pollen and avoid getting eaten! Unfortunately that means characters who get it on them will just find that they just have soooooo many best friends and they really need to let them know how super-cool they are. Before running a fever and puking for 2 hours. Good times! The storm has had one more effect on the interlopers: their suit power. Due to their close proximity to the ship & frequent forays into its interior, power drainage has crept beyond the bounds of the ship and extends to the entire sinkhole around it. Now going anywhere within that area will drain a suit's power from 100% from 0% in roughly 10 minutes, draining slightly more quickly in the middle of the sinkhole rather than its outskirts. It will be impossible to explore the ship at all without the help of the queen's energy orbs. An IC Intro Log will go up on the 9th for all new characters to be discovered.
The Forgotten City	IC Days 12 onward (Nov 9th onward)
New pods aren't the only thing the drastic shifting of sand has revealed though. Where once there were numerous rolling dunes as far as the eye could see, these have been blow away to reveal what can only be described as A Forgotten City. Massive and stretching at least a day's travel in size, this city is composed mainly of worn and weathered buildings. Made primarily of stone, their once-pristine edges now worn and rounded by erosion and characters will find that as they enter the city's outskirts, it is built to wind and twist and double-back on itself not unlike a maze. From the outside almost all buildings are damaged or destroyed. Once again those iconic claw marks appear, numerous and the cause of much of the ruin. Almost all buildings save a few oddly untouched ones seem to have had some sort of fight torn through them. As characters work their way further into the city less of the buildings will have those claw marks, and some will actually be in habitable, structurally-sound order. The damage here is lesser, and on the innermost walls of these buildings can great murals be found depicting numerous figures standing below a strange symbol characters should find all-too-familiar. It's the same as the one on the back of their hand: the mark of The Atlas. The murals lack any sort of language on them, but all signs point towards some sort of worship for the Icon. The further into the city characters go, the more of these they'll find hidden inside buildings. Close towards the city's center characters will find numerous circular archways that create a strange, airy tune as the winds of Kharas blow through them. And while they appear built randomly or at least for aesthetic purpose, they all line up and lead to one location in particular: The Fossilized Tree Whether this tree is an actual fossil of something once-living and vibrant is impossible to tell. It looks for all intents and purposes to be made of some sort of hard, coarse marble that glints whenever the hot sun hits it right. It doesn't look all that special (besides being the only tree on Kharas encountered to date), but when characters get near it they will notice that time around the tree slows down. While they will be able to move around at normal speed for them, when looking outward at their environment characters will notice that everything else looks to move in slow-motion, about half of what it should be. And the closer one gets to the tree, the more pronounced this effect. The further away? The lesser the effect and the faster time moves. During the daily eclipse all time around the tree stops completely when one is near it, and leaving its proximity causes one to return to the normal flow of time. But lastly and perhaps most important of all? Is the collection of larger buildings built further inside the city. Why? Because there's water here. Deep inside the inner chambers is what looks to be an organized cavern containing an underground lake filled with safe, clean water for drinking. It just so happens to be glowing and purple-tinged, but don't let that bother you. No adverse effects will come from drinking it. This is as far as characters can get for now thanks to the strange network of winding streets and buildings, but there's much, much more to be found inside The Forgotten City: Our next major event will be Saturday, November 26th at 8:00am EST which will take characters deeper into the city...and closer to The Atlas. It will include a 24-hour event, a second upgrade for the suit, a boss battle, and sweet, sweet loot. A post to thread out & investigate the area will go up a week prior to give characters time to play in the new area before the actual encounter log goes up. Final Notes The Flora, Fauna & Resources page has been updated with information on the seedlings, cacti, and crystals! These items are now all available for Discovery. Our Calendar has been updated to reflect this month's schedule. The Forgotten City will be available indefinitely from now on! Characters can take this time to settle & build up a foundation for themselves, explore the area, and of course, harass those poor little seedlings. There will be an major event on Saturday November 26th which includes our second 24-hour event encounter which runs from Nov 26th at 8:00am EST to Nov 27th at 8:00am EST. A mingle log will go up a week prior to let characters toy around & thread in the innermost areas of the city before the main event.